D-BAT Lake Charles - Meet the Owners!

Lake Charles Baseball & Softball Community,

We are excited to announce the opening of D-BAT Lake Charles, now under new ownership. Our ownership group is comprised of successful D-BAT franchise owners and operators, that are looking forward to getting engrained in the rich baseball and softball communities in, and around, Lake Charles. We would like to take a minute to introduce ourselves, so when you see us around feel free to stop us and say hello!

John and Annie Ard

John and Annie Ard are based out of Austin, TX and are the owners of D-BAT Bothell and the Seattle, WA territory for D-BAT. Starting as D-BAT customers, John and Annie opened their first location in Annie’s hometown as they saw a need for indoor space in the Pacific Northwest. Since opening, D-BAT Bothell has been a consistent leader among D-BAT franchises with John and Annie being recognized for being top brand ambassadors for the D-BAT brand. John and Annie have two kids, Matthew (18) and Grace (16).

David and Heather Collings

David and Heather Collings live in Carrollton, GA where they have operated three D-BAT locations. David started as an instructor after college, before managing, then buying his first facility in 2012 in Douglasville, GA. Heather came on to run the front office, and helped add a second facility in Carrollton, GA in 2016. In 2018, the facilities converted to the D-BAT franchise model. They added their third facility in 2022 in Peachtree City, GA. David and Heather have one son, Lyndon (5).

DJ Lidyard

DJ Lidyard is currently the General Manager of D-BAT Bothell, where he has thrived as a nationally recognized GM. After playing professional baseball in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, DJ coached collegiately at the University of Washington. Since joining D-BAT, DJ has received several prestigious awards, including the 2019 Rookie General Manager of the Year, the 2021 Steve Adair Award winner, and the 2022 Large Market General Manager of the Year. DJ will be working hand-in-hand with our general manager to ensure we are providing the highest quality service to our customers.

Jacob Hester

Rounding out our ownership group is Jacob Hester. Jacob has been with us for the last four years as a coach and full-time instructor at D-BAT Carrollton, and was a finalist for D-BAT Instructor of the Year in 2021 and 2022. Jacob partnered in on the ownership side, and serves as our General Manager in Peachtree City, as well as General Manager in Carrollton. Jacob played college baseball at South Georgia State College, and LaGrange College, where he was a part of the #1 Nationally Ranked DIII team that went 40-6 in 2017. Jacob and his wife Lily were married in 2022 and currently live in LaGrange, GA.

Our combined experiences have prepared us for the challenge of creating meaningful relationships within the Lake Charles community. We are committed to bringing the highest level of service to our customers, and are looking forward to working with our General Manager, Sharome Chretien to bring D-BAT back to Lake Charles.

We are planning to open starting March 1, as a Soft Opening, with a Grand Opening celebration being planned for the near future.

Our hours of operation will be:

Monday - Friday 10am - 9pm

Saturday 9am - 5pm

Sunday 12pm - 6pm

Our Rawlings/Easton Proshop is fully stocked, with even more new gear set to start arriving this week. We will have the latest gear, exclusive releases, and the best prices when combined with our D-BAT membership!

The pitching machines are undergoing a total overhaul, and will be on a set maintenance schedule to ensure maximum uptime. We also have all new baseballs and softballs on the way!

Again, we are excited to be a part of the Lake Charles baseball and softball communities, and are here to help in any way we can! Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions, and be sure to say hello when you see us at the facility or out at the fields!

Thank you,

-D-BAT Lake Charles Ownership

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